We have all, no doubt, heard
brass players practicing diligently, or “buzzing,” on their
mouthpieces away from the horn itself. Similarly, playing on
the mouthpiece alone is an extremely beneficial exercise for saxophonists
at all levels. It not only helps us develop and reinforce proper
embouchure formation, air support, and tongue position, but it can
also aid in our quest for good intonation and even tone color throughout
the registers of the horn. Below I will discuss the basics of
mouthpiece playing and offer some exercises.

The first issue that must be addressed is that of the correct pitch to be produced
by playing on the mouthpiece alone. (Please note that I am presently
referring to “classical” mouthpieces; that is, those intended for
solo and/or concert playing, such as the Selmer C*, rather than those intended
for jazz performance.) Since the mouthpieces of the different saxophones
are of different sizes, each has a unique pitch it produces when played alone:

Students will likely be
reluctant to play on the mouthpiece since it does create a rather unpleasant
sound. However, it is important to play loudly and confidently
at first, since loud, sustained long tones can be very telling in regard
to one’s embouchure/air/tongue position set-up. Also, make
sure to play with proper posture and that the hand holding the mouthpiece
does not cover up the end of it.

If you find your student playing above the preferred pitch, then there are
a number of potential reasons for this. Firstly, and most likely, the
embouchure is too tense. More specifically, the lower teeth and lip are
biting into the reed too much. (For further information on the embouchure,
see my article titled “Saxophone
Embouchure Basics,” also available on this web site.) Perhaps
the student may also not be taking enough mouthpiece into the mouth. Other
reasons for a sharp pitch could be attributed to a constricted air stream or
incorrect placement of the tongue in the oral cavity. The throat should
be quite open, with the concept of “warm air” in use; a sharp pitch
might indicate the opposite is being used. The tongue should be positioned
with a downward curve in the mouth; that is, the back part of the tongue should
be relatively high in the mouth, possibly even touching the molars, and it
should curve downward toward the mouthpiece, so that there is an open area
in the oral cavity just behind the mouthpiece. Thinking of the syllable “err” will
place the tongue in the correct position.

Conversely, a student playing below the pitch will likely have some of the
opposite issues. A very loose embouchure, for example, will lead to this
flatness on the mouthpiece. Perhaps the jaw is pulled too far away from
the reed, as when playing “subtone.” (Incidentally, a loose
embouchure such as this is preferred in jazz playing; again, this article is
geared toward classical performance.) A tongue that is placed too low
in the oral cavity or an under supported air stream are other common reasons
for this. See above for correct tongue placement; to correct the air
support issue, the student must realize the concept of “low” breaths
and must engage the diaphragm much more. In other words, breathing while
playing a wind instrument requires more work than when breathing normally!

Once this basic pitch has been well established, there are a number of exercises
we can practice with the mouthpiece alone. As mentioned above, when first
working on the mouthpiece we must work for loud and sustained tones. Play
the pitch forte or fortissimo and sustain it for as long as comfortably
possible, striving for no fluctuation of pitch. Since the length of the
tube with which we are dealing is so small, any change in embouchure, tongue
position, or air stream, no matter how minute, will be exaggerated. Thus,
we are working for absolute consistency with all of the above-mentioned aspects
of our playing. If we notice lots of pitch fluctuation with just the
mouthpiece, then we know we are doing it when we put the mouthpiece on the
horn itself!

The next exercise will include dynamics. Of course, the saxophone plays
sharp at softer dynamics, and this will be made painfully obvious on the mouthpiece
alone. Begin the pitch at a loud dynamic, but now decrescendo to
as soft as a dynamic possible, and unless some changes are made, the pitch
will rise considerably. In order to counteract this natural tendency,
it is important to open the oral cavity as we get softer. This can be
achieved by opening the throat and by dropping the tongue slightly in the mouth,
as when going from the syllables “err” to “aah.”¹ A
common instruction to lower the pitch is simply to “drop the jaw;” while
this is a quick fix and certainly works, it also has the side effect of distorting
the tone color. Thus, we must work to keep the jaw stationary and allow
the oral cavity to change shape in order to bring the pitch down. Once
this has been mastered, we can then begin the mouthpiece tone softly and crescendo,
or do any combination of dynamics, as long as the pitch remains constant.

Once we are consistent with the basic pitch at all dynamics, then we can begin
to actually change the pitch and perform many of the same exercises. Try
at first to bring the pitch down a half-step, accomplishing this change of
pitch not by “lipping down,” but by changing the shape of the oral
cavity, or “voicing.” Play this lowered pitch at all dynamics,
again, maintaining a consistent (lowered!) pitch. Bring it down another
half-step, then another, etc. Then play scales, simple tunes, such as “Mary
Had a Little Lamb,” and other similar exercises. Work above and
below the “standard” pitch, though we will obviously be able to
move much farther below than above.

In conclusion, mouthpiece practice will help us to evaluate better how our
students are doing in the areas of embouchure, tongue placement, and air support. With
such a small “tube,” all of these potential pitfalls are greatly
exaggerated, and by fixing the problems on the mouthpiece, it should lead to
more favorable results when the mouthpiece is put on the horn. By applying
the techniques practiced in these exercises to the saxophone itself, your students
should better understand the mechanics required to play in tune (“voicing” instead
of “lipping”) and they should also be able to produce a considerably
more consistent tone throughout all registers and at all dynamic levels.

1 This concept
of changing the shape of the oral cavity is called voicing and
becomes extremely important in the production of the altissimo register. With
the technique of voicing, we are moving the tongue into different positions,
and essentially re-directing the air stream as it enters the horn. These
tongue motions are the same as those that allow us to change pitch when
whistling.